My Grandmothers Words of Wisdom

All of my life I have had a special relationship wtih my grandmother. She is a strong, beautiful woman who has always been my champion, confident and mentor. I spent long summers at her house where I learned to garden (although I never was any good at it), fell in love with horses and early morning coffee. Somewhere along the way I grew up and became interested in boys, basketball games and weekends with friends. Through growth and moves our relationship has waxed and waned that way. But coming to grandmas still is like coming home. She was the first person to know I was pregnant and the person I call when I just need to talk it out and my husband simply won’t understand. She has taught me so much along the way that it’s hard to pin point exact pieces of advice, she has helped shape my entire person. Although, at the moment two pieces of have sprang to mind.

The first she gave me during a “give the bride advice” type game at my wedding shower. Growing up in a very traditional home independence was something I wanted in my relationship with my husband. And there my grandmother was with witty, albiet true advice.

“The less you do for him, the more he will do for himself.”

The second she gave me more recently. I was complaining to her how awful it felt to still, after 3 years, be carrying around “baby weight.” Looking at the soda in my hand, the 3rd in a matter of hours, she started lecturing me on the importance of water. And as a nurse she had quite the ammunition of knowledge tucked away on the subject. First things first, I needed to stop worrying about weight and instead worry about my health. A healthy lifestyle is far more important than a number on a scale. Swapping out one of the pops I had consumed for a water would go a long way to losing weight and hydrating my body.

Worry less about the numbers on the scale and more about a healthy lifestyle.

After dumping the rest of my soda and grabbing a water we continued to talk about society in general. The way women are so focused on weight they may be missing the biggest factor of all, health. We discussed the way conversations with our daughters should focus on the importance of health and a healthy lifestyle. Before I knew it we had chatted our time away and I needed to head home. But our conversation stuck with me and I’ve been swapping out that one soda for a bottle of water each day. It’s a small start, but a healthy change nonetheless.

It’s just one of the countless ways my grandmother is giving me the push that I need. I can’t imagine not having that voice of wisdom in my life. But most of us are fortunate to have that person. It has me thinking, what is the best piece of advice you have ever gave or received? Share your pure wisdom on the Nestlé® Pure Life® Facebook page and stay tuned for the launch of this year’s Hydration Movement in late July! Nestlé® Pure Life® will continue to focus on healthy hydration, while also embracing Mom’s Wisdom – sharing and discovering all of the little things that moms have shared over the generations that make our lives better. And one thing all moms can agree on is that it’s important to keep the family healthy, hydrated and happy.

Ashley

Ashley spends her days avoiding run-ons as she turns words from yellow to chartreuse and wearing out the M & N keys writing about Travel, DIY, and Tech. She hopes to inspire the masses to travel and LIVE happily one InstaTweetPin at a time.

My grandmother was a wonderful, inspiring person also. And it’s neat as now I see my grown kids go to my mum for advice and that certain relationship you just don’t have with any other family member. I hope I can carry in the tradition with my grandchildren.